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The Canadian Institute of Planners Inducts New Honorary Member for his Contributions to the Planning Profession.
OTTAWA, Ontario – June 25, 2020 – The Canadian Institute of Planners is pleased to announce its newest Honorary Member: The Honorable Michael Harcourt OC.
Election as an Honorary Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners is the highest honour the Institute can bestow upon a non-planner. This distinction acknowledges the important roles non-planners can have on the planning profession, as well as recognizes the contributions an individual has had on a community’s resilience, vitality, and sustainability.
Eleanor Mohammed RPP, MCIP, President of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) stated, “On behalf of CIP, it’s a privilege having the Hon. Michael Harcourt OC, join CIP as an Honorary Member. Mr. Harcourt’s advocacy for responsible and innovative planning as a lawyer, Councillor, and former Mayor of Vancouver has positively impacted communities nationwide. CIP is proud to count him as an ally and friend to planners.”
The official announcement about CIP’s newest Honorary Member was made during the CIP’s Annual General Meeting, conducted virtually on June 25, 2020.
The 2020 Canadian Institute of Planners Honorary Member:
The Honorable Michael Harcourt
Through his distinguished career and dedicated citizenship, Michael Harcourt has been a constant advocate for innovative and responsible community and regional planning. As a community lawyer, City Councillor and Mayor of the City of Vancouver, and as a Member of the Legislature and Premier of British Columbia, Harcourt has shaped and supported more sustainable, vibrant, livable, and equitable cities and regions. He has been a friend and ally to planners, to the planning profession, and to the people, communities, and regions we serve.
Harcourt’s support to the planning profession and the principles for which we stand has been courageous, strong, and articulate on many fronts. Early on, his community activism fostered a reform of planning policies and practices in Vancouver, ending brutal ‘slum clearance’ and urban freeway construction. Later, his civic leadership in Vancouver helped form a vision for the city leading up to Expo 86, and inspired the transformation of the city thereafter. Then, his provincial leadership sponsored new approaches and legislation to resource management in British Columbia to balance economic needs with the imperatives for environmental responsibility, mandating integrated, sustainable regional development. Harcourt also helped bring recognition of the unceded nature of the province’s land base (the traditional territories of many First Nations), facilitating the formation of British Columbia’s Treaty Commission. Beyond government, Harcourt has taken the key themes of contemporary planning across the nation and internationally as a member of the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy, chair of the National Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities, honorary Chair of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities, advisor to Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, and special advisor to the Prime Minister on cities and the environment. Harcourt articulately carries the planning message in his books and other writings, his public speaking, and his teaching across Canada and around the world.
Harcourt’s advocacy and support for planning and his collaboration with planners have been celebrated provincially and nationally. He is an Honorary Member of the Planning Institute of British Columbia and he has received the Jane Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Urban Institute. Bringing together all of his contributions to Canadian life, Harcourt is also an Officer of the Order of Canada.
About CIP Honorary Membership
Created in 2019, this prestigious distinction recognizes individuals working outside of the planning profession who have made a significant contribution to the promotion or enhancement of planning practice, the profession, or both. This honour acknowledges an individual’s extraordinary contribution to the vitality, resilience, and sustainability in one or more communities across Canada and/or around the world.
Nominations Process: an eligible individual must be nominated by a CIP member in good standing, providing evidence that all criteria to become an Honorary Member have been met or exceeded (see criteria here). All nominations are brought before the Jury, which provides their recommendations to the CIP Board of Directors for review and approval.
Media Contact:
Sheena Jardine-Olade, MPLAN
Communications Specialist
communications@cip-icu.ca
613.237.7526 ext. 505